Medium duty trucks are often operated by drivers more accustomed to transmissions used on passenger cars. Due to inexperience, the truck driver may not always select an appropriate starting gear for the existing road and vehicle conditions. Improper selection of a starting gear can result in damage to the vehicle clutch and driveline components. While heavy duty trucks are generally driven by experienced drivers, there is still a need to provide assistance or control in the selection of the starting gear. In one prior art system a predetermined starting gear is automatically selected each time the engine is started. If the driver overrides the predetermined starting gear, the new starting gear is automatically selected each time the vehicle stops, until the engine is restarted. Relying on the previous starting gear as the default can produce problems since the previous stop may have been on a level grade and would be inappropriate if the next stop is on a 6% grade. For example, in a 16-speed transmission, 1,2,3,4 or 5 may be a correct starting gear depending upon load, grade, etc. Since it is not always best to start in the lowest gear available and the transmission can be severely damaged by starting in a gear that is inappropriately high, there is a need for a system which selects a starting gear on the basis of current operating conditions such as grade and load.